TY - JOUR
T1 - The epidemiology of infection with the human herpesviruses in navajo children
AU - Becker, Thomas M.
AU - Magder, Larry
AU - Harrison, H. Robert
AU - Stewart, John A.
AU - Humphrey, Dorreth D.
AU - Hauler, Joanne
AU - Nahmias, Andre J.
N1 - Funding Information:
ico Tumor Registry, Cancer Center, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 900 Camino de Salud N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131. This work was supported in part by Grant AI-POl-19554 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The authors thank Garrett Mallory, Dorothy Warner and Rita Elliott for technical assistance; Francis Lee, Paula Bailey, and Carla Griffin for laboratory assistance; Dr. Robert Williams for his advice; and the Crownpoint Indian Health Service Unit's Community Health Representatives for their assistance in locating families for interviews.
Funding Information:
The Crownpoint Indian Medical Center is supported by the Indian Health Service. The hospital has inpatient and outpatient facilities and is equipped with a laboratory that provides most routine laboratory services. We selected a sample of all children presenting to the clinic, for any reason, who had blood drawn as part of their clinical care. The sample included children who presented for medical and surgical conditions and children who presented for routine physical examination for well-child care. An attempt was made to enroll equal numbers of children of each age from 1-15 years. The study subjects were initially selected as part of a chlamydia serologic study by researchers at the University of Arizona (5). The chlamydia studies were performed in Tucson, Arizona, and the serum samples were then shipped to Atlanta, Georgia, where the herpesvirus serologic assays were performed. The serum was stored at —20 C prior to shipment and remained frozen at -20 C until the assays were carried out.
PY - 1988/5
Y1 - 1988/5
N2 - Investigations of serum antibody status to the five human herpesviruses- herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and varicella-zoster virus-were conducted on 197 Navajo children, aged 1-15 years, at a reservation pediatric outpatient clinic in Crown-point, New Mexico, from 1981-1984. To determine the severity of infection with the human herpesviruses, the authors reviewed lifetime medical records of 166 of the children for evidence of herpesvirus-related diseases, and to illuminate potential modes of transmission of the viruses, they completed home interviews on the families of 87 of the children. The investigation showed that the children had a high prevalence of antibody to herpes simplex virus type 1 (73% of total sample), cytomegalovirus (78%), Epstein Barr virus (98%), and varicella-zoster virus (77%), and that prevalence tended to increase with age. None of the children demonstrated herpes simplex virus type 2 antibodies. The medical records showed that 30% of the children had suffered from gingivostomatitis prior to the study. When age was controlled for, the study showed herpes simplex virus type 1 seropositivity to be associated with children who slept in the same bed as their parents during infancy (p = 0.003) and with frequent attendance at community events (p = 0.02); cytomegalovirus seropositivity was shown to be associated with female sex (p = 0.007) and with living in a traditional Navajo dwelling (p = 0.007). The Navajo children also demonstrated a greater frequency of symptomatic oral herpes simplex virus type 1 infection than is usually recorded. The findings suggest a relation between certain patterns of cultural behavior and transmission of herpesvirus infections.
AB - Investigations of serum antibody status to the five human herpesviruses- herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and varicella-zoster virus-were conducted on 197 Navajo children, aged 1-15 years, at a reservation pediatric outpatient clinic in Crown-point, New Mexico, from 1981-1984. To determine the severity of infection with the human herpesviruses, the authors reviewed lifetime medical records of 166 of the children for evidence of herpesvirus-related diseases, and to illuminate potential modes of transmission of the viruses, they completed home interviews on the families of 87 of the children. The investigation showed that the children had a high prevalence of antibody to herpes simplex virus type 1 (73% of total sample), cytomegalovirus (78%), Epstein Barr virus (98%), and varicella-zoster virus (77%), and that prevalence tended to increase with age. None of the children demonstrated herpes simplex virus type 2 antibodies. The medical records showed that 30% of the children had suffered from gingivostomatitis prior to the study. When age was controlled for, the study showed herpes simplex virus type 1 seropositivity to be associated with children who slept in the same bed as their parents during infancy (p = 0.003) and with frequent attendance at community events (p = 0.02); cytomegalovirus seropositivity was shown to be associated with female sex (p = 0.007) and with living in a traditional Navajo dwelling (p = 0.007). The Navajo children also demonstrated a greater frequency of symptomatic oral herpes simplex virus type 1 infection than is usually recorded. The findings suggest a relation between certain patterns of cultural behavior and transmission of herpesvirus infections.
KW - Herpesvirus infections
KW - Indians, North American
KW - Serology
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U2 - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114883
DO - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114883
M3 - Article
C2 - 2833854
AN - SCOPUS:0023933254
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 127
SP - 1071
EP - 1078
JO - American journal of epidemiology
JF - American journal of epidemiology
IS - 5
ER -